Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 269

Review: SOPHIE WASHINGTON: THE SNITCH by Tonya Duncan Ellis

Sophie has a bully problem, but she doesn’t want to tell anyone because she doesn’t want to be a snitch. Having had enough of her bullying, she gets in a shoving match and the bully breaks her new glasses. She and her friends have got to do something.


Relatable and easy! We’ve all been in a situation of “should I tell or not?”


A good story!


My rating: 4 stars

Review: THE CURSE OF HOLLISTER HOUSE by Kathi Daley

A girl would sit up in the attic with her cat. There, Callie would dream, thinking anything was possible. Years later, the dreams vanished and reality sunk in. With her parents gone, she lost the will to play, the will to live, the will to dream. At this point, this was getting winded and getting to be a real downer.


Then her aunt shows her the “magic” that can be found in the attic. What magic? Like real magic? Then the story ended up getting historical, making it very dull very fast.


My rating: 2 stars

Blog Tour: FINDING LISA by Sigrid MacDonald

Finding Lisaby Sigrid Macdonald  
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GENRE:   Mystery/women's fiction
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BLURB:
Finding Lisa is a character driven story about a quirky Canadian woman named Tara who is about to turn 40. She dreads the thought. Everything is going wrong in her life from her stale marriage to her boring job to her hopeless crush on a 24-year-old guy. The only thing right in Tara's life is her best friend Lisa who has just confided that she is pregnant and the baby does not belong to her partner Ryan, who has a history of domestic violence. Then Lisa disappears and the search is on to find her.

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EXCERPTS
Excerpt One:
All the carts were taken at the supermarket on Tuesday. I found one off to the side of the vegetable aisle. It had a defective wheel, which resulted in me almost overturning a display of cantaloupes. The cart was also enormous. No doubt this was a deliberate ploy on the part of the supermarket to encourage excess shopping. 
"I feel as though I'm driving a school bus," I announced to the frail, pale orange-haired woman to my left, who was squeezing the small, unappetizing looking cantaloupes. 
She smiled faintly and nodded. I wondered how she had the strength to push the heavy cart through the long aisles of the grocery store at her age.
"Mum, I'll go with you to one of those Women against Rape meetings if you want?"  Devon said to my astonishment, his voice rising at the end of his sentence. "There’s only one condition. You have to watch 8 Mile with me."
"8 Mile? Isn’t that the movie based on the book by Stephen King?"
"Nah, you’re thinking about The Green Mile," Devon replied. "8 Mile is the story of a rapper in Detroit. It's based on the life of Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers. Eminem even stars in it," he said with increasing enthusiasm.
"I think it’ll give you a better idea of where he's coming from. You know, you're always talking about these girls who've been, like, abused and what horrible lives they've had. You even feel bad about boys who were taken advantage of by priests or their hockey coaches. So why don't you have any sympathy for Marshall? His mother was abusive. She was mean to him, and she did drugs! Also, she, like, gave him something called Munchkins syndrome," Devon added uncertainly.
"Munchausen syndrome?” I asked, trying to picture the tough guy with the tattoos and bad attitude as a small child with a manipulative and controlling mother.
"Yeah, that sounds right. She made him feel sick when he was totally healthy. And, Mum, I know you would respect the way Em felt about his little brother, Nathan. He, like, didn't wanna leave him alone in the house with his mother when he finally split from Detroit. He's also really keen about his daughter, Hailie Jade. He talks about her all the time in his songs and on TV."
I pushed the buttons on the radio. The Steve Miller band was singing, "Time keeps on slipping, slipping into the future." I had a sense of motion. The car was moving forward, and with every traffic light I passed, I was moving farther away from Lisa and our routine evenings at the ByTowne Theatre. The rest of us were going ahead, and Lisa had been left behind. I wanted to go back, not just to last Thursday night, but to my university days, so I could live my life all over again.
I wanted to be sixteen or twenty-six again, making decisions based on what I knew now. So many lost opportunities. How had I managed to completely screw up my life? I'd done everything wrong except that I hadn't become a street prostitute or a serial murderer. Too late for the former—who would want me? But there was still time for the latter. 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Originally from New Jersey, Sigrid Macdonald lived for almost thirty years in Ottawa, Ontario, and currently resides in Weston, Florida. She has been a freelance writer for years. Her works have appeared in The Globe and Mail newspaper; the Women's Freedom Network Newsletter; the American magazine Justice Denied; The Toastmaster; and the Anxiety Disorders Association of Ontario Newsletter. Her first book, Getting Hip: Recovery from a Total Hip Replacement, was published in 2004. Her second book, Be Your Own Editor, followed in 2010. Although Finding Lisa is written in first person, Macdonald only resembles her character in the sense that she once had a neurotic fixation on her hair, and she has always been called by the wrong name; instead of being called Sigrid, people have called her Susan, Sharon, Astrid, Ingrid and, her personal favorite, Siri.Macdonald is a social activist who has spent decades working on the seemingly disparate issues of women's rights and wrongful convictions; she has worked at the Women's Center at Ramapo College of New Jersey and Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and was a member of AIDWYC, The Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted. She owns an editing company called Book Magic. Sigrid is a public speaker and a member of Mothers against Drunk Driving, Ottawa Independent Writers, the American Association of University Women, and the Editors' Association of Canada. Visit her website at http://bookmagic.ca/ or friend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sigridmac.Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Lisa-Sigrid-MacDonald/dp/1590952510/Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-lisa-sigrid-macdonald/1132691210


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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Sigrid Macdonald will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: WRONG BED, RIGHT MAN by Rebecca Brooks

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the WRONG BED,
RIGHT MAN by Rebecca Brooks Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!About the Book: Title: WRONG BED, RIGHT MAN (Accidental
Love Book 3)Author: Rebecca BrooksPub. Date: February 17, 2020Publisher: Entangled: BrazenFormats: Paperback, eBookPages: 150Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo
Rose Campbell is determined
to get her stuff from her cheating ex-fiancé’s apartment. There’s just one
problem. A sexy stranger is sleeping in her bed. Work boots and scruff so
aren’t her type––except when they’re on furniture maker Owen Crowley, who is funny,
kind, and speaks his mind.
The prim and proper Rose
isn't the kind of woman Owen is usually interested in. But the more he gets to
know her, the more intrigued he becomes. There’s passion underneath those stiff
suits of hers that he can’t wait to explore.
There’s no reason these two
opposites can’t have some sexy fun––except that one thing. Rose works for the
very people trying to destroy Owen’s business.
EXCERPT:


Owen pressed on the mattress over the place he’d fixed, where the weak spot in the wood had originally


About Rebecca:


Rebecca Brooks lives in New York City
in an apartment filled with books. She received a PhD in English but decided it
was more fun to write books than write about them.
She has backpacked alone through India
and Brazil, traveled by cargo boat down the Amazon River, climbed Mt.
Kilimanjaro, explored ice caves in Peru, trekked to the source of the Ganges,
and sunbathed in Burma, but she always likes coming home to a cold beer and her
hot husband in the Bronx.
She likes outdoorsy guys with both
muscle and heart and independent women ready to try something new.
Feel free to contact me, or for more
info and updates, check out the News page.



Sign up for Rebecca’s newsletter here!
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page | BookBub

Giveaway
Details:
1
winner will receive a $15 Amazon GC, International.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tour
Schedule: 2/17/2020 Two Chicks on Books Excerpt 2/17/2020 Jaime's World Excerpt 2/18/2020 Texan Girl Reviews Excerpt 2/18/2020 Books,Dreams,Life Excerpt 2/18/2020 Books_andPoetrii Excerpt 2/19/2020 momfluenster Excerpt 2/19/2020 Precious books world Excerpt 2/19/2020 BookHounds Excerpt 2/20/2020 Sandra's Book Club Review 2/20/2020 Comfort Books/Paige Bradish Review 2/20/2020 Ziggy's Reading Corner Excerpt 2/20/2020 Jazzy Book Reviews Excerpt 2/21/2020 Eli
to the nth Review 2/21/2020 The
Eclectic Review Review 2/21/2020 Novel Novice Review

Blog Tour: BITCHCRAFT Anthology

Bitchcraft A Supernatural & Paranormal Anthology with stories by J.A. Cummings, S.B. Rhodes, Lindy S. Hudis, Katie Jaarsveld, J.M. Goodrich 

A young girl accused of witchcraft in the late 1500s, a grandmother’s dying request, three girls who get more than they bargained for while seeking revenge, college students who play with forces they do not understand, and a woman’s search for her ancestor’s legacy. Take a look inside to learn more about the witches of Bitchcraft. 

Goodreads * Amazon



My review: Well-written and enchanting! I liked the holistic element that mingled with the almighty girl power. Oh, we can be sweet, but, when push comes to shove, we can be total witches.


Some stories I enjoyed more than the rest; others I thought were too long. I was also kind of hoping that these would be more contemporary rather than historical, even though the tales resurrected the dramatic impact of the witch trials.


Overall, this was a pretty good read.


My rating: 3 stars


J. A. Cummings was born in Flint, Michigan and was raised in a nearby town called Clio. Appropriately enough for someone growing up in a place named for the Muse of history, she developed a passion for reading and the past that continues to this day. Her love of poetry and storytelling quickly followed. 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads




S.B. Rhodes I am a writer and editor. I have known that I wanted to be a writer since I was eight years old, and I am thrilled to be able to make that dream a reality. I am working on a novel, which I hope to publish sometime in the near future. I also write articles and do some freelancing. I mostly do ghostwriting, and I have recently begun to branch out and do more of my own work as well. 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Amazon * Goodreads

Lindy S. Hudis is a graduate of New York University, where she studied drama at Tisch School of the Arts. She also performed in a number of Off-Off Broadway theater productions while living in New York City.
She is the author of several titles, including her romance suspense novel, Weekends, her "Hollywood" story City of Toys, and her crime novel, Crashers. Her latest release, "L.A. Foxx: Hollywood Underworld" is the first installment of a crime, mystery series.
She is also the author of several erotic short stories, including "The S&M Club", "The Backstage Pass", "Guitar God", "The Guitarist", and "The Mile High Club". Her short film "The Lesson", which she wrote, produced and directed, was screened at the Seattle Underground Film Festival and Cine-Nights in 2000.
She is also a former actress, having appeared in the television daytime drama "Sunset Beach", also "Married with Children" , "Beverly Hills 90210" and the feature film "Indecent Proposal" . She and her husband, Hollywood stuntman Stephen Hudis, have formed their own production company called Impact Motion Pictures, and have several projects and screenplays in development. She lives in California with her husband and two children. 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Katie Jaarsveld was born in America. She had an imagination and though she was continually writing something, she was not published until later in life.Having the support of family members as well as her husband, she finished stories she had written years earlier and brought them to life.Being encouraged by fellow authors gave her the courage to chase her dreams and become one of the published. 

Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Jeanine Goodrich (Mason) is a newly self-published author, originally from Sault Ste Marie, MI. Her debut novel, Celestial Souls, was published last November and is available on Amazon in paperback, e-book, and is free in Kindle Unlimited, under her pen name J.M. Goodrich. Jeanine currently resides in Gwinn, MI with her husband, two sons, and their cat. In her spare time she enjoys reading, spending time with her family, and continues to write fantasy novels. 

Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

$20 Amazon, Samhain Secrets ebook – 1 winner each
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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Excerpt: THE HANDS THAT HELD ME by Lisa Jo Symonds

“Lisa!”              “Hey, Lisa. Wake up!”              “Lisa!”              “You need to wake up. You aren’t breathing!”              I can barely hear his voice. Nothing seems to be making sense. I have to stay focused. I am struggling. Struggling to breathe, struggling to think, struggling to fight the fog that seems to be closing in on my mind.              From a distance, I hear his voice shout out even louder now, “LISA, WAKE UP! YOU ARE NOT BREATHING!”              He sounds so desperate. I feel so confused. I hear myself screaming back, “What is going on? What is wrong? I need to figure this out!” Yet, my lips never spoke a word.              I am fading…. fading in and out of blackness, where nothing - not even myself, exists. My head fell forward, my body folding into an awkward position.              “LISA, WAKE UP! YOU ARE NOT BREATHING!”              I am fighting hard to make sense of what I am hearing. Someone is shaking me. From a far-away place, I hear the words being yelled again, “LISA, YOU ARE NOT BREATHING!”              My brain was screaming an answer, but I still wasn’t making a sound. “Oh my God. Just leave me alone !”



Available on Amazon

Review: STABLE by Kate Gemma

Graphic Image designed by Sandra Lopez

They say those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Then, there are some who learn and are doomed anyway.

Maura Bennet has lived her entire life in the shadows of the unspeakable horrors she and her closest friends- Sawyer, Charlie, and Greg- endured when they were just thirteen years old. Growing up in Settlers Hill, a small, safe town tucked between two mountains, they never could have imagined that they would be abducted and held captive for three days in a lightless, abandoned barn stable by a sadistic madman. As an adult, Maura still allows herself some days to deny this reality completely.

Eighteen years later, Maura, Sawyer, and Greg reunite in their hometown for Charlie’s funeral. Maura intends to stay for the funeral and return to her new city life as soon as humanly possible. But travel plans come to a halt when Greg and Sawyer go missing and all signs lead back to the stable. Are they alive? Is she next? She doesn’t know the answers and she refuses to sit around and wait to find out. The man who took them as children is rotting in prison, so who is taunting her? Everything Maura thought she knew about her past comes into question. She must find her friends before it’s too late, even if that means facing her demons head-on.


Available on Amazon



My review: Kids were kidnapped and rescued. They thought it was over…but was it?
Year 2000: Charlie, Greg, Sawyer, and Maura are best friends, fending for themselves in school.
Year 2018: Charlie is dead and Maura returns to her hometown for the funeral, reconnecting with old friends, Greg and Sawyer. Charlie should’ve died with them in the stable.
Story constantly bounces back and forth between past and present. The past is written in 3rd person perspective while the present is written in 1stperson POV of Maura, which was a little odd. The pace was kind of slow as it mostly relays the group’s history with the town and community. The reader relives the kid’s abduction and what it was like for them in the stable. The overall experience gives this creepy vibe, especially when one of them disappears in the present and the scenes bring them back to those dark memories. I wish this would’ve had a quicker pace to bring more suspense.
Overall, this was a decent read. The mystery can get a little hazy sometimes, and I get the feeling that this story preys more on your fears.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: THE MAN SHE MARRIED by Alison James

Alice was newly married and pregnant. One night, the man she married doesn’t come home.


Although the writing was pretty good, the story wasn’t what I thought it be. Once Alice sees that man coming home wasn’t her husband, the story goes back, reliving how Alice met Dominic. She didn’t quite fancy him at first, but her life was about to change in ways she didn’t imagine. This part was intriguing. The relationship moved fast, and there was too much time spent on the wedding stuff. Gee, get to the suspense already!


There was too much time spent on the “then.” What about the “now?” Very slow! So NOT worth it!


My rating: 2 stars

Review: TORMENT by Mark Tilbury

Beth, pregnant with her child, knew something was wrong when she came home that night. Her husband thought she was just being silly. Then they saw it—the wreath from her sister’s grave hung over the bed. It’s the 25th anniversary of her death. How creepy!


The message was clear: someone wanted her dead.


The writing was okay, but it has a slow pace. Not as suspenseful as I thought it be. Yes, some strange things occurred, but the whole thing was mild at best.


It was just “Eh.”

My rating: 3 stars

Review: MURDER FOR ME by Russell Little

Ava was on a typical run through the park when a shot rang through, startling her. She turned and saw a man pointing a gun at her. Someone was trying to kill her, so she ran faster—faster than she’d ever ran before.


This started off well for me, but then all these other characters came into the picture. Who were all these other people and what did they have to do with the story? Heck, the third chapter was not even in English—it was some Arabian stuff.


This totally sucked!


My rating: 1 star